Tarot   Learning the Tarot for the first time is a daunting and overwhelming task. Not only are there seventy-eight different upright meanings, there are also seventy-eight reversed meanings! The tarot is a set of cards featuring 22 trump cards, in addition to the usual suit (face and pip) cards found in ordinary playing cards. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. Playing cards first entered Europe in the late 14th century with the Mamelukes of Egypt, with suits of Scimitars, Polo Sticks, Cups and Coins. These designs rapidly evolved into the basic 'Latin' suits of Swords, Staves, Cups and Coins, which are still used in traditional Italian and Spanish packs. All evidence indicates that the first tarot decks were created between 1410 and 1430 in either Milan, Ferrara, or Bologna, in northern Italy, when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the more common four-suit decks that already existed. These new decks were originally called "carte da trionfi", or "triumph cards." The first literary evidence of the existence of carte da trionfi is a written statement in the court records in Ferrara, in 1442. The oldest surviving Tarot cards are from 15 fragmented decks painted in the mid 15th century for the Visconti-Sforza family, the rulers of Milan. When the tarot was first used for divination is not known, but no documented examples exist prior to the 18th century. However divination using similar cards is in evidence as early as 1540. Recently, the use of Tarot for divination, or as a store of symbolism, has inspired the creation of Oracle card decks. These are card decks for inspiration or divination containing images of angels, faeries, goddesses, Power Animals, etc. Although obviously influenced by Tarot, they do not follow the traditional structure of Tarot; they lack any suits of numbered cards, and the set of cards differs from the traditional major arcana. Modern deck designs The modern, 78-card tarot deck has two distinct parts: The major arcana ("greater secrets"), or trump cards, consists of 21 cards without suits, plus a 22nd card, The Fool, which is often given the value of zero: The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess. The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, and The World.   The minor arcana ("lesser secrets") consists of 56 cards (sometimes referred to as pips), divided into four suits of 14 cards each: ten numbered cards and four court cards. The court cards are the page, knight, queen and king in each of the four tarot suits. The traditional Italian tarot suits are swords, batons, coins and cups; in modern tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands, rods or staves, while the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks. The terms major arcana and minor arcana are only used in esoteric practice. The Major Arcana relates to important events in one's life, and is often representative of long-term influences. Whereas the Minor Arcana highlights small incidents and passing influences, the Major Arcana holds far more weight in a reading, highlighting ongoing influences in the querent's life. Click the links below to be taken to the meanings of all the cards in a Tarot deck Major Arcana Minor Arcana